Owner David Rubenstein met with the media at spring training and had promising things to say about the present and future of the Orioles.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Yesterday’s Orioles camp in Sarasota brought a popular visitor, O’s majority owner David Rubenstein, who met with the media to discuss the state of the Orioles ahead of his first full season at the helm. Rubenstein has taken a bit of heat from Orioles fans this winter for not breaking the bank for a superstar free agent as some (perhaps naïvely) imagined he would, nor signing any of the Orioles’ core youngsters to extensions. He also spoke earlier this winter in support of an MLB salary cap, an unpopular idea among many fans because it arguably incentivizes owners to spend less money.
MASN’s Roch Kubatko provided the full transcript of Rubenstein’s interview yesterday, and overall I found it encouraging. Rubenstein emphasized that the team is “in very good financial shape,” adding that they “don’t have any particular financial constraints.” The Orioles, while still carrying just a middle-of-the-pack payroll among MLB teams, did have a 56 percent increase (from $103 million to $161 million) from last year’s opener to this year’s.
Rubenstein’s comments about the team’s financial health are a stark contrast from his predecessor, John Angelos, who claimed just two years ago that the Orioles would be “financially underwater” if they were to sign any of their young players to extensions and would have to “raise the [ticket] prices massively.” Angelos backed up his claim with nothing but a vague promise to open up his books, which he never followed through on. It’s refreshing that Rubenstein isn’t putting on a facade that the O’s are in dire straits with their finances.
Rubenstein also emphasized that while he gives final approval on the team’s baseball decisions, he has no intention of vetoing or interfering with any of the moves made by Mike Elias and his staff. “He knows a lot more than I know,” Rubenstein said. Again, that hands-off approach is a welcome change from the Angelos regime, particularly the late patriarch Peter, who infamously overruled a number of his general managers on baseball decisions, often to the detriment of the team.
On the other hand, Rubenstein didn’t walk back his previous comments about wanting a salary cap in MLB, saying that he “wants to have a competitive environment” for every team in every city. It’s an understandable desire after the Los Angeles Dodgers blew every team out of the water with their spending this offseason, but it doesn’t fix the issue of owners who intentionally keep their payrolls low — and their teams uncompetitive — to maximize their own profits. Rubenstein also wouldn’t commit to signing key players like Adley Rutschman or Gunnar Henderson to extensions, saying, “right now we’re focused on getting the team ready for the season and we’ll see what unfolds.”
Still, Rubenstein’s comments by and large seem encouraging about the long-term outlook of the Orioles. It sounds as if he’ll provide the monetary wherewithal for Elias and his staff to build the Birds as they best see fit. It’s not a guarantee of success, let alone a World Series championship, but it’s as much as you can ask for.
Links
Adley Rutschman spent the offseason stewing on disappointment. It has lit a fire in him. – The Baltimore Banner
For a guy like Rutschman who had never experienced real failure in his baseball career before last year’s second half, he seems to be responding in the right way. A comeback season for Adley would be huge for the 2025 Orioles.
Orioles’ Kyle Bradish on comeback: ‘I have full confidence … that I will make a full recovery’ – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Speaking of things that would be huge for the 2025 Orioles, I’d love to see the return of vintage Kyle Bradish in the last couple of months. I’m just not at all certain that we will.
Get to know trio of former big leaguers on hitting side of O’s staff – MLB.com
All three of the Orioles’ hitting coaches are almost a decade younger than I am. That feels unnatural! Baseball coaches are supposed to be grizzled 60- and 70-year-olds with two bad knees, dang it!
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have not one but two current Orioles birthday buddies: Jordan Westburg turns 26 and Ryan Mountcastle turns 28. Will they have a tandem birthday celebration in Sarasota today? They did go to Disney World together last week (along with some other Orioles), so maybe that was an early present.
For a time last year, there were three Orioles with Feb. 18 birthdays on the active roster, as Westburg and Mountcastle were joined by infielder Nick Maton (28 today), who played five games. Maton is now in the White Sox organization. Other former Orioles born on this date include catcher Chad Moeller (50) and the late infielders Jeff McKnight (b. 1963, d. 2015) and Walter Young (b. 1980, d. 2015).
On this date in 2011, the Orioles signed Vladimir Guerrero to a one-year deal, eight years after they had come up short to the Angels the first time he was on the free agent market. Unfortunately, the Hall of Fame-bound Guerrero didn’t have much left in the tank at age 36. He sputtered to just 13 home runs and a .733 OPS in 145 games for the Birds in the final season of his 16-year career.